Photo Album
by GrapePudding
Summary: Apollo finds an old photo album full of photographs of the eccentric characters from Phoenix's days as an attorney. Oneshot. Rated T just in case.


**A/N: This is purely for fun... No plot or anything. I had the idea in my head for ages, and now I finally wrote the damn thing. If you read carefully, you can find an exact conversation from Rise from the Ashes (the fifth case in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney). Although it's very slightly modified to better suit the situation.. Well, anyways, enjoy ^^ (Or not.) Reviews will be greatly appreciated :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ace Attorney. Do I really need to say this every time...?**

* * *

><p>Apollo yawned as, for the billionth time, he browsed through the Wrights' bookshelf. The choices were limited; he could choose to either read about law or magic. Apollo let out a sigh. Why did he even bother looking through this thing? He wished he had a case to work on...<p>

Behind a very heavy and very dusty textbook, Apollo found something that didn't quite look like it belonged there.

"Huh? What's this...?"

Phoenix turned his head from the television. "Something wrong, Apollo?"

"I found a photo album," the young lawyer announced. He sneezed. "Ack! It's dusty."

Mr. Wright smiled. "Ah, that would be mine."

Apollo opened the small album and was immediately greeted by a faded photograph of Phoenix Wright in a striking blue suit, grinning sheepishly. An attorney's badge gleamed on his lapel. Standing beside him was a rather chesty woman with long brown hair.

"That's Mia. My old mentor," said Phoenix. Apollo yelped in surprise. He hadn't realized that Phoenix was standing behind him, looking over his shoulder.

"Y-your mentor?" repeated Apollo. "I-I like her breasts. I mean her chest! U-um, no, wait, I mean I l-like her dress! Uh..."

Phoenix arched a brow. "She isn't wearing a dress in this photo, Apollo."

Apollo blushed hotly. _(Ack! Why did I say that?) _He hurriedly turned the page and found himself looking at two colouful photographs, both depicting the familiar blue-suited lawyer and a teenage girl. The girl was dressed weirdly, in a purple kimono-like robe, and her hair was tied up in a topknot. The first picture was taken at what Apollo assumed was a fast food restaurant. The second was from an amusement park, and in this photo, a small girl with her light brown hair done up in two loops like a pretzel was with Phoenix and the odd teenager.

"Who are these girls?" Apollo asked. _(Why is it that so far, only females have been in these pictures with Mr. Wright?)_

Phoenix was wearing his signature bored expression, but his eyes seemed to soften a little when he looked at the photos. "The teenager is my old assistant. Her name's Maya. The little girl is her cousin Pearl."

"Where are they now?" Apollo found himself asking. Despite Phoenix's casual introductions, Apollo got the impression that the two girls were very important to him.

"We keep in touch," the former lawyer replied vaguely. He stared at the album with a wistful look in his eyes.

Apollo let the subject drop and turned to a new page. With a shock, he realized he recognized the person with Phoenix in the next picture.

"Is that... _Ema?_" Apollo stared at the photograph. It was definitely Ema Skye. There was no mistaking that lab coat and the pink-tinted glasses. She looked a lot younger than the Ema he knew though...

"That's right," Phoenix affirmed, his expression reminiscent. "This was taken right before she left for Europe. She was only 16 then. I did mention I worked on a case with her, didn't I?"

Ema was wearing a bright smile in the photo. _(That's not something you see often on Ema's face these days,) _Apollo thought, as an image of the grumpy snackoo-munching detective flashed in his mind. "Um, she looks... different. Happier, I guess?"

Phoenix chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose she is a bit moodier nowadays. But I'm surprised she can even be smiling like that in this picture. It was... a rough case."

"What happened?" Apollo was curious, but he couldn't help but feel like he was intruding on Ema's privacy somehow.

"That's something that Ema can tell you herself, if she wants to," said Phoenix. He smirked when he read the disappointment on his apprentice's face.

Apollo shifted his eyes to the next picture. It was of a magenta-clad young man that even Apollo recognized, despite having never personally met him. The man looked rather uncomfortable, like he was trying to find a way to flee the scene. "That's the famous prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth!" Apollo exclaimed.

Phoenix chuckled. "So you've heard of him. He's-"

"Your rival," Apollo finished. "I read the case reports."

"Actually, I was going to say 'an old friend'," Phoenix said with a smirk. "But yes, I suppose you could say he was my rival too."

_(Old friend? Riiight. They say that when Wright and Edgeworth were put in a courtroom together, the trial became more like a shouting match...) _Apollo kept his thoughts to himself as he flipped to the next photo. He was greeted by a young woman with short, pale blue hair. She looked... well, _pissed_, for lack of a more fitting word. Apollo was shocked to see that she was raising a whip, as though she was about to attack the poor sap that was taking the photo.

"That," said Phoenix, sounding amused, "would be Franziska von Karma."

The name sounded vaguely familiar, although Apollo couldn't quite place where he had heard it before. "Uh... Why is she holding a whip...?"

Phoenix chuckled. "Because it's Franziska. Thank God Maya was taking that photo."

_(Letting a teenage girl face the whip in your stead, huh? Smooth, Mr. Wright...) _Apollo glanced at the next picture. It depicted a large man with unkempt dark hair, a scruffy beard, and a very shabby coat. "This guy isn't very photogenic, is he?"

Phoenix chuckled as he looked at the photo.

Apollo eyed the picture critically. "Look, his eyes are half shut!"

Phoenix smirked. "Yeah... and his mouth is half open."

"Each of his shirt buttons is off a notch!" noted Apollo.

"And he's got the narrow end of his tie in front," Phoenix pointed out. "...I think this goes beyond being a 'photogenic' issue."

"Um... So who is he?" asked Apollo.

"Hmm. I don't remember. He's probably not important anyway."

Apollo nodded and continued flipping through picture after picture. Most of them were of Phoenix and the two girls - Maya and Pearl. Phoenix looked through the album along with Apollo, occasionally commenting on a noteworthy photograph. Apollo noticed all the photos looked like they were taken quite a while ago... Back before Phoenix Wright was disbarred. He began to understand why the album was so dusty now... And why he found it in the back of a bookshelf.

Halfway through the photo album, the pictures stopped. The rest of the album was empty. Apollo raised his eyebrows. He was sure that Phoenix could have filled the album if he chose to. And there weren't even any pictures of his daughter anywhere in the album...

"How come there aren't any photos of Trucy in here?" Apollo asked.

Phoenix smiled, his beanie casting a shadow over his eyes. "That's a very old album, Apollo. I prefer to keep pictures of Trucy elsewhere."

_(Translation: This photo album is for his lawyer days only,) _thought Apollo.

"I think it's best you put that old thing away now," Phoenix said, turning away. Apollo could have sworn he caught a flash of wistful longing in his mentor's eyes. "Let the past rest."

_(If you wanted to let the past rest, why did you look through this entire album with me...?)_ Apollo sighed and shoved the photo album back in the bookshelf. He would have to gossip with Trucy about this later, once she was back from school. She probably knew some more about the _interesting_ people from her father's past...


End file.
